June 1-3, 2021
We went from putrid cold rain and wet snowy weather for ten days to summer in a matter of 24 hours. The Idaho forecast for Wednesday was for little wind and 81°. That’s unheard of for early June here so Granny and I packed the Explorer Tuesday afternoon and headed camping on Blackfoot.
Its Henry’s Fork time and we were tempted to head there. But the salmon fly hatch has been occurring and word is that the crowds were unbearable over the holiday weekend. The older I get the more I appreciate peace even if it’s less fish. We were 100% positive that our remote camping on Blackfoot would provide plenty of solitude. Sure enough we had the entire 27 mile long lake to ourselves.
We woke up nice and early as you should when it gets light at 4:30 AM. You can feel summer. You can smell summer. And the birds were going off I all their glory well before sunrise. For me, there’s no better month than June. Toss in how beautiful and green things are and June in Idaho, it’s total paradise.
Before walking the carp flats I had work to do. I have some Cliff Fly Box art to get done so being the obedient self employed person I am, before I wadered up I knocked off one of them. Each year I donate a box to the Henry’s Fork Foundation for their annual Henry’s Fork Day event. Normally I do a Ranch rainbow but this year I did up a lower river brown trout sneaking up on a streamer.
Granny and I still made it on the water before 10 AM. That’s perfect for carp. They aren’t much for the cool water temps left behind by a cold night and need sun for a few hours before they start moving. Granny took to the water first and tossed a crayfish at a school of mirrors that kept swimming by her.
The issue with carp on Blackfoot in early season is that their behavior seems more like they are spawning than eating. Yeah, the occasional fish stops to eat a fly but for the most part they’re more interested in each other and keep swimming by with no interest in any of your flies. I’m certain this is why catch numbers are always low at our “normally” annual Carp Classic each May (Canceled for Covid for second year). But while neither of us could stick a carp, I caught three smallmouth bass.
The smallies were a first here on Blackfoot. I’ve heard of some being landed in recent years but none for me. Today I changed that and throughout the day I caught six. While this one I got a photo of is small, I managed a chunky 13 incher that jumped three times.
After a three hour walk on the flats without a carp, we made it a relaxing afternoon sipping some Reel Good Beer and listening to the Cubs game on my XM Radio. This Reel Good Beer was sent to me from my good friends at Simms. Simms has teamed up with 10BarrelBrewing and created a limited-edition Summer Ale that benefits the Simms/Trout Unlimited Home Rivers Initiative focused on the Gallatin.
After the Cubs finished their sweep of the Padres it was back on the water. Things weren’t looking to promising for catching a carp but I’m not one to give in to a skunking. I hopped in the Explorer and took a ride. Sure enough I found a good size spread of mud. I knew it was caused by numerous carp and got out and went to work. I hooked up and lost one. Then into another.
My carp rod of choice is my Winston 6-weight Air. I can really put the screws to these fish even on a big run. After the mirror carps first run I cranked my Bauer drag a few notches and heaved back. Within five minutes I had my first Idaho carp of the season. Now summer is officially here!
It was so nice at Blackfoot Wednesday that we camped again and then diddled around till about noon today. I made some casts for more smallies but no luck. Then I looked for carp but it was dead calm and they seemed to be hiding. A little weird because the temp hit 89° and they should have been wallowing in the heat. But they weren’t. And we headed home at 1 PM.
What a great couple of days on the home waters. Next week we will in fact head to the Henry’s Fork. It will be nice to stick a couple big rainbows at Last Chance and visit with some of our older legendary trout bum friends in the gravel pits. For now it’s packing. I’m flying to Memphis in the morning for my first “Live” speaking performance in a long long time. This one is for Mid-South Fly Fishers. I’m really looking forward to it. And yes, I will be fishing a private bass lake too! Stay tuned!
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